The Lost Airbender
by QuestForMyOwnMagic
Summary: What if the Fire Nation didn't wipe them all out? What if there was another? Follow a misfit named Nalina as she goes through life with her best friend Aang, but then he just suddenly disapears...ZukoxOC
1. Chapter 1

"Nalina wait up!" The young monk with a light blue arrow on his head shouted at his friend who ran ahead of him.

"Well hurry up Aang!" Nalina laughed, her different colored eyes shining with affection.

"You're so fast, how do you do it?" Aang gasped for breath as he finally caught up with her.

"I use the wind to give me a boost." Nalina smiled at her best friend.

"Aang, come play with us!" Another monk called to Aang.

Aang looked at Nalina who said, "You don't need to ask me for permission."

"I know but still." Aang shrugged.

"Go on, you need other friends." Nalina nudged her friend with the wind, her right gray eye shimmering.

"So do you." Aang playfully glared but said it with a serious voice.

"I'll go play with Sky." Nalina shrugged.

"I meant other people." Aang smiled.

"I'll be fine." Nalina gave him a hug and walked away, her left blue eye watering with tears.

Aang sighed and went to play with his fellow monks. Nalina walked through her home, the Southern Air Temple. She heard all the whispers that weren't meant to follow her ears, but she did anyway.

"I can't believe that she has to live here!" One woman with long ivory hair whispered to her friend next to her.

"It's one thing to nurse others to health, but to let someone like _her_ actually living? It shouldn't be allowed." The other one with short onyx hair gossiped back.

Nalina closed her eyes and ran away from the gossiping women to the open area where the sky bison were flying.

"Sky, yip yip!" Nalina called out to the flying bison and jumped off the cliff to fall for a couple feet and landed on top of her animal companion.

Her brown bison gave a groan as they flew away.

"Hey Sky." Nalina patted Sky's white arrow.

Sky only gave another groan and they flew off through the clouds.

It was maybe only a couple of hours when Nalina and Sky were joined by Aang and his sky bison.

"Aang?" Nalina asked, turning her to the side when she noticed his down face.

"I'm the Avatar." He just stated bluntly.


	2. Chapter 2

**I would like to thank .cake for being the first person to review. catstop for wanting to see where this story goes.**

**And I would really like to give a special thanks to Kiwiguy2010 for all the constructive criticism he has given me. Oh and I was going to make her eyes spiritually special, not genetics for thanks for realizing that! I didn't know that the female and male monks were separated, so thanks for that little bit of information. **

**Another round of thanks to those who have favorited and put this story on their alert list.**

* * *

"What?" Nalina asked when he said that for the tenth time when they finally made it back to the temple and his room.

"I already told you, I'm the Avatar!" Aang shouted.

"I know,but it's, hard to take in..." Nalina sighed with patience.

"Hard to take in? You're not the one dealing with it!" Aang glared at her.

"I know, but still, my best friend is the Avatar!" Nalina waved her hands at Aang.

"I know, I still don't believe it." Aang's gray eyes lowered to the ground and he sat indian style on his carpet.

"I can." Nalina smiled at him.

"How?" Aang asked.

"You're the best twelve year old airbender around! I think that should give you a clue." Nalina smiled at him.

"Nali..." Aang only shook his head but gave a small laugh.

"Gotcha to laugh!" Nalina pointed at Aang dramatically, earning a longer laugh.

"What would I do without you Nali?" Aang asked shaking his head.

"You would slowly die on the inside from all the boringness of the temple." Nalina held her hands in front of her face and waved her fingers around and said it with a joking scaring voice.

"Ahem." An ancient voice that held wisdom cleared their throat at Aang's door.

"Master Gyatso." Aang and Nalina shot up and put their fist to their hand and bowed before the elder.

"It's not that boring is it?" The elder asked with a raise white eyebrow.

Nalina and Aang just looked at each other and looked back him.

"I didn't mean to offend you." Nalina started.

"But it is kind of boring here when your only friends consit of a flying bison and of course, Nalina." Aang cut in with a joking smile.

"Aang! I am shocked that you would say such a thing about me!" Nalina mockingly put her hand on her chest and dramatically turned away from the laughing Avatar.

Gyatso, Aang, and Nalina all erupted in laughter at the childishness.

"I'm sorry to stop you're talk but it's almost curfew." Gyatso smiled sadly at the kids who hung their heads.

"Thanks for reminding me Master Gyatso." Nalina gave him the formal bow, nodded to Aang, and walked out of his room and down the long hallways and staricases to the monk women's part of the temple.

Nalina wasn't paying much attention to where she was going and a door opened in front of her. She managed to catch herself before she ran into it though.

"Did you hear? Nalina is supposedly suppose to be a waterbender instead of an airbender!" The familiar voice of the long ivory haired woman giggled.

Nalina froze and immediatly pressed herself against the wall.

"How did you hear that?" Her friend asked just as giggly.

"It's not polite to gossip about those when their ears are open." Nalina said coldy as she revealed herself from behind the door.

"Nalina!" The women jumped back in shock.

"Just because I'm different doesn't mean anything, I'm just like you. The only differences are the physical attributes we have. You, Aling, you have white hair while most of us have dark brown. Meling you can't airbend. So why must you gossip about me when I don't care how you look like?" Nalina told them and walked off with her question hanging in the air.


	3. Chapter 3

****

**Hey .cake here's your update! I just got back from my friends house and my dad's friend, who is forty-one, looks like he's really twenty-nine, meaning...HE'S HOT FOR AN OLD GUY! He doesn't have any gray hair but has a thirteen year old kid...weird right?**

* * *

It's been about a month since Aang was told that he was the Avatar, Nalina was looking out her window and noticed that the sky was blue and clear.

"Nalina?" Aang knocked on her door and stood there.

"There's a storm coming." Nalina answered with a deep breath through her nose and out her mouth.

"What are you talking about? The weather's perfect." Aang gave her a thoughtful look when she turned around.

"I just know that there's a storm coming, and a _big _one." Nalina answered as she left her room and they started to walk to the grounds where their animal guardians were.

"Sometimes I wonder about you." Aang told her with a final like nod.

"I wonder about myself too." Nalina answered with a wide smile.

"So what are we going to do today?" Aang asked.

"I don't know... What do you want to do?" Nalina looked over at her blue arrowed head friend. **(A/N wow, that was longer than I thought...)**

"Let's just play it by ear." Aang gave a secretive playful smile.

"What are you planning?" Nalina said suspiciously, crossing her arms.

"Uppa, yip yip!" Aang called out to his animal guardian and ran off the platform that the air benders used to take off and land.

"Sky, yip yip!" Nalina laughed and followed his lead.

Uppa, his white coat and brown arrow markings gave Sky a greeting as they caught up to Aang.

The two friends spent the whole day together and with their sky bison.

Later that night

Nalina was sitting on her window seat as she watched the storm surrounding them.

_'The storm is beautiful. It's dangerous, but it helps us keep the sun balanced.'_ She thought to herself.

"Nalina!" The brunette was pulled back to the present as Master Gyatso called her from her doorway.

"Master Gyatso, is something wrong?" Nalina got up and did the formal bow.

"It's Aang, he ran away." Gyatso gasped, making it noticeable that he ran up here.

"He ran away?" Nalina asked incredulously.

"Yes, he left a note for us." Master Gyatso handed her the note that was in his hands.

Nalina nodded and read the note,

_Dear Master Gyatso and Nalina,_

_I'm sorry but I chose to run away, I couldn't stay and be the Avatar I'm not ready._

_Nalina, I'm really, really, sorry that I left you to fend for yourself. Tell Sky that Uppa says he sorry too._

_Master Gyatso, I know you didn't expect this from me and you must be very disappointed but I don't feel ready. I also don't want to be sent away to the eastern air temple away from you guys._

_Again, I am sorry, I hope we meet again some day._

_With Love, Aang_

"He ran away, because the sages were going to send him away?" Nalina asked in disbelief.

"That's what his note said." Master Gyatso nodded,putting his hands in his long sleeve orange tunic.

"Oh no..." Nalina gasped and sat on her bed.

"I'm sorry Nalina, but I wanted you to know first before I told the other sages." Master Gyatso bowed to her and left her room in a hurry.

Nalina looked back out to the storm with tears trickling down her face, "I understand everything, but I can't help but feel this way."


	4. Chapter 4

Nalina was sitting on her window sill, observing her room. Her mat that she slept on was neatly made with a thin blanket made by the sky bison's shed fur. Her room was small and on the walls was things that she and Aang found when he was still here. Nalina sighed and pulled her legs up under her chin and she closed her blue and gray eyes.

"Nalina?" She opened her eyes and tried to blink the sleep out of them.

"Master Gyatso." She yawned and stood up to do the formal bow.

"You must come with me. The sages and I have something to tell you." Master Gyatso bowed to her and turned around to lead her to the meeting ground.

She walked with, confusion on her face but she held her head high and noticed once again that the whispers that usually followed weren't there as much. They were just a buzz in the background now.

Once they finally made it to the meeting clearing Gyatso walked in and bowed to his fellow sages and sat on his seat to the right of the main sage. Nalina bowed to the sages and sat down with her feet on her legs in criss cross style.

"Yes Masters?" She asked when they obsereved her.

"You know that we need to tell you something right?" The main sage asked, his gray eyes full of wisdom and, saddness?

"Yes Master." She nodded to him.

"Well you know about the history of the Alchemist?" Gyatso asked.

"Yes my teachers made sure that I study it hard." Nalina answered, wondering where this was going.

"You know that the Alchemist is also in a way an Avatar?" The sage on the left asked.

"In a way, but they can also control spirit." Nalina nodded.

"Well, Nalina, you are the Alchemist." Gyatso said.

She sat there, not moving a single muscle and after ten minutes of staring off into space she came back.

"When will I learn to bend the elements?" She finally asked.

All of the sage's eyes widen in shock.

"You're not going to deny it?" The main sage asked.

"No Master Galino. I always knew I was different for a reason." She answered.

* * *

After two weeks of learning how to bend water and perfect air, Nalina was talking to Gyatso about her fire bending training.

"Who can we trust with the secret that the Alchemist is alive?" Nalina asked as they walked around the gardens together.

"We're not sure exactly." Master Gyatso sighed and took a breath then froze.

"Master Gyatso?" Nalina asked then also froze when black snow started to fall from the sky.

"No." Master Gyatso took off the the side with Nalina following right behind.

"Fine Nation...How did they find us?" Nalina couldn't help asking a question that didn't have an immediate answer.

"Nalina, you must get away!" Master Gyatso took her hand and lead her to the where the sky bison's were.

"What? I need to stay and help!" Nalina protested but was amazed but the old man's strength in his grip.

"You should, but you can't. You need to get away before they take you too." Gyatso pulled her along.

"They don't even know if I'm alive or not. As far as they're concerene, I'M A MYTH!" Nalina couldn't help screaming as tears began to spill from her eyes.

"Exactly child! They must not know that you are alive or all will be lost." Gyatso said while getting Sky from where she laid.

"I can't just leave you! You could be killed." She didn't mean to wail.

"All for protecting you." Gyatso smiled at her sadly.

"I don't want to be protected, I can look after myself!" Nalina crossed her arms but their argument was paused when the temple gave a shake and screams erupted from within the walls.

"You must go please Nalina!" Gyatso pleaded with the young girl.

"Come with me." She finally decided as she got up on Sky's head.

"I can't my place is here. You're place is out there in world to regain the peace with Aang." Gyatso stepped away from Sky just Nalina was about to pull him up.

"What? NO!" She screamed when Gyatso lightly told Sky, "Yip yip."

"Gyatso!" She called out with her hand out to catch him and tears streaming down her face.

"Grandfather..." She whispered when he was no longer in sight.


	5. Chapter 5

They finally made it to the western air temple but both bison and girl were so exhausted that they just collapsed on an open floor panel and just fell asleep.

When Nalina finally woke up she noticed that the temple was quiet and empty.

"Hello?" She called out to the foggy air and was answered by her echo.

Sky woke up and gave a groan out the fog also, but was also answered by her fading echo.

"Sky, I think we're the only ones left with Aang, where ever he is." Nalina whispered as she hugged her bison.

* * *

_Years have past since Nalina and Sky were sent away from the Southern Air Temple. They gained another companion, a flying lemur that goes by the name Serenity. (She looked exactly like Momo.) Nalina didn't know how many years past, all she knows is that she hasn't aged a day which she found odd but thought of it as an alchemist thing. The Western Air Temple soon became their home and Nalina got furious one day and took her anger out on a boulder and made the boulder take off flying over the edge of the balcony without using her air bending. So she let her bottled up anger help her with her earth bending until she finally discovered how to earth bend with out Anger's help. So now her grey eye is now half gray and half green._

_Nalina of course was lonely without Aang by her side but she made do with tidying up the air temple and practicing her bending ablities. One day she wasn't paying attention to the outside world and suddenly felt strange vibrations through the ground as she used her earth bending abilities to sense and hear a group of young travelers enter the temple._

Nalina took off through the temple to find Sky eating away happily at some hay and Serenity laying on Sky's head.

"I need you two to stay hidden I think we have company." Nalina whispered to her companion's and took off through the temple once again.

"Come on Duke, let's go explore." Nalina felt a young man's voice vibrate through the earth.

"It's THE Duke, THE Duke." Another voice vibrated through the earth, this one young though.

"Wait, Aang we need to talk." Nalina heard a young woman's voice but stopped when she heard the voice say Aang.

"Hold on you guys, theres something else here." A little girl's voice said and Nalina felt someone else seeing with the earth.

"It's a girl!" The little girl's voice shouted and Nalina felt the group running in her direction.

Nalina freaked and air bended herself up and flew to face the small group.

"Wait, I lost her." The same voice stopped the pounding of feet and Nalina followed the voice of a young man saying that 'Toph' might be loosing her touch.

"Hold on, what's that?" Nalina heard a very familiar voice ask and she saw a familiar blue arrow.

"I think it's another lemur!." The young woman walked up next the boy.

"AANG!" Nalina shouted angrily and landed infront of the group making the earth around them ripple and throw the water tribe kids off while the earth bender and Aang stopped the ripple from reaching them.

"Ahh!" Aang's friends screamed as they landed.

"Who are you?" Aang asked, putting his blue glider infront of him, trying to look threatening.

"Don't you recognize me?" Nalina asked, smiling kind of evilly.

"No... Should I?" Aang asked, scratching his head.

Nalina only glared at him and stomped a rock from the ground and sent it his way.

"Katara!" Aang shouted as the water tribe girl got in front of him and the blind earth bending girl, as Nalina noticed, sent the rock flying over the edge.

"My fight is not with you. It's with him." Nalina glared as the friends grouped together infront of the monk.

"You want him you have to get through us." The water tribe man got out his boomerang.

"You honestly think that's going to stop me?" Nalina pointed at the boomerang.

"No, but it should distract you." The water tribe man threw it at her.

Nalina smirked as air bended it away from her.

"You can air bend?" Aang asked incredulously.

"I'm surprised to you don't recognize me in all honesty Aang, yet I'm not considering the fact that it's been a long time." Nalina shrugged then sent a wave of water out of no where to them.

"Wait!" The blind earth bending girl cried as Aang and the young woman stopped the wave and also sent it over the edge of the cliff.

"What now Toph?" Katara asked exasperated, clearly getting ready to hit Nalina with anything.

"She's hurt." Toph stated bluntly.

"How is she hurt?" The young man asked with a crazy look in his eyes.

"Not physically you idiot, mentally. Some thing's wrong with her vibrations, they're fine, but they keep getting cracks... What happened to you?" Toph asked Nalina who was standing there with admiration for the little girl.

"Being blind has it's weaknesses, since you can't see the sky and the wonders it possess, but it also has many strengths. Seeing that you can actually _feel_ what someone is feeling." Nalina noted.

"We're not taking about me though now are we?" Toph asked with a smirk.

"I don't know how many years ago it was but one day..." Nalina told the group about her past.

Aang still didn't who she was even though she gave the whole group every story about his adventures before he found out he was an avatar.

"That's great and all but who are you?" The water tribe young man asked pointing at her.

"Aang should know. I mean before I discovered how to waterbend and earthbend I was an airbender with blue and gray eyes." Nalina gave Aang a blank stare.

Aang slowly started to remember her.

"Nalina..." He whispered under his breath.

"Nalina?" Katara asked, looking at the girl.

"My name is Nalina, and Aang was my best friend before he ran away." Nalina nodded and turned around.

"Nalina I'm sorry!" Aang suddenly shouted.

"Aang, I understood then, I understand now, but if you were in my place and I in yours. You know you would be doing the same thing." Nalina told him and walked off.


	6. Chapter 6

Nalina kept walking away, knowing that Aang won't follow her but she heard someone following her.

"What?" She stopped and waited for the person to catch up.

"I'm Toph." The blind girl answered as she caught up to Nalina.

"Nalina." Nalina started walking again.

"I don't mean to be rude, but what's your problem with twinkle toes?" Toph asked.

"Twinkle toes?" Nalina asked confused.

"Aang, I call him twinkle toes." Toph shrugged and put her hands behind her head as they walked through the stone corridors.

"Oh ok... After my story, tell me yours." Nalina smirked.

"Deal." Toph smiled.

"Aang and I were, maybe are, best friends. When he was told he was the Avatar everyone shunned him except for me. They had the respect for him,he deserved, but he didn't feel ready. I understood that. One day, I stayed inside my room and that night there was a storm. Master Gyatso came into my room and told me that Aang left a note and had ran away. His reasons were ligament, and I understood them, but I just couldn't help and feel hurt. I mean... My eyes are different and I always got criticize for it. One eye was gray and the other was blue. It just wasn't normal and they didn't like it.

So when he left, there was no one... Aang didn't care about my looks, we both saw past the looks and into the soul. So again, when he left, there was no one to confide in and then I found out I was suppose to be something bigger. So I stayed and learned that I was not only an air bender, but a water bender as well. When the Air Nomads were attacked I was sent here and the Fire Nation had already attacked and killed off the Air Nomads here. So for years I've been on my own with the company of my sky bison, Sky, and lemur, Serenity. One day, I was really furious over something and I learned that I can earth bend. So I taught myself how to earth bend without anger's help.

Now my gray eye is half grey and half green." Nalina lead the way and they finally made it to her room with Sky and Serenity.

"Okay... So you understand everything he's done but you can't help but be hurt?" Toph asked as she leaned against one of Sky's legs.

"Exactly. Now it's your turn." Nalina layed on Sky's leg next to Toph.

"Obviously I'm blind, so my parent's were very protective of me. The outisde world didn't know anything about me, they knew me as the Blind Bandit. I use to be part of an earth bedning wrestling thing. I was the champion because I knew all of the moves that were going to happen because I see with the earth. I met Twinkle Toes at the last match I went too. He was looking for an earth bending teacher who listens then attacks or something like that. So when he came up to fight me for the winning title he air bended around the ring and I couldn't see him. So I called him twinkle toes and still do." Toph explained as she petted Sky's fur.

"You're pretty cool." Nalina said as they got comfortable on Sky's legs.


	7. Chapter 7

**Alright, I haven't been here for awhile so bare with me on this long author's note okay?**

**I don't quite know who has been adding me to their alert list and story favorite but I thank you so much for doing so even though I'm finally uploading another chapter now.**

**To procrastinating artist : Thank you for reminding how to spell Uppa's name :), I'll try to get away with it by now editing the other chapters haha but I'll change it in this one.**

**To everyone else, enjoy this chapter! I don't know when the next one will be up.**

* * *

Toph slept with Sky, Serenity, and I. I was grateful to have a friend now, even if we met more by chance than anything else. No offense to Sky or Serenity but it was great to have someone to actually talk to. Toph was snoring and it was hilarious listening to her, Sky didn't seem to have a problem with her and Serenity was out cold. She must've found Momo, Aang's lemur. I couldn't sleep for some reason so I just laid in Sky's fur until I couldn't take being still anymore. I airbended away from them hoping Toph wouldn't wake up.

I don't know what I was looking for exactly, but I knew I was walking around for some reason.

As I walked through the familiar halls I heard the echoes of the wind and sighed contently.

"Nali?" A hesitant voice called to me.

I turned around slowly and saw Aang there, nervously jumping from foot to foot.

"Aang?" I nodded.

"I'm so sorry!" He wailed and fell to his knees, his hands to his eyes, his sobs were loud.

"Aang…" I whispered and walked to him and knelt down beside him.

"I'm such a horrible friend! I ran away I just left you!" He cried, his voice echoing through the halls.

"Shhh… You're going to wake everyone up." I wrapped my arms around him and held him.

"And when I got out of the iceberg I didn't even bother trying to find you! I could only think about penguin sledding with Katara!" He wailed some more.

I couldn't help it, I started to giggle and he looked at me with a funny expression on his face. Then I started to laugh, and soon I was rolling on the ground holding my stomach.

"Nalina?" He asked, not quite sure what to think obviously.

"You thought of penguin sledding before even thinking about me?" I finally gasped out.

"Yeah?" He answered confused.

"That's just too funny!" I yowled, not caring if I woke up his friends.

"How?" He asked, wiping his nose but giving a giggle.

"Well obviously I now have competition with penguins?" I gasped for air.

Soon Aang and I were gasping for air from laughing so hard.

"Aang?" I asked, looking up at the ceiling.

"Yeah?" He looked at me, I saw him out of my peripheral vision.

"I'm sorry about earlier." I said, looking at him.

"It's fine, I'm sorry about everything." He smiled sadly.

"Still friends?" I asked, holding out my pinky.

"Still friends." He smiled and wrapped his pinky around mine.


	8. Chapter 8

**I'm back and sadly not as better as ever but here is this chapter :-)**

* * *

Katara was a tough person to crack, for some reason she didn't like me and I just couldn't figure out why. I mean I gathered firewood and fetched water for Uppa and Sky. Serenity even showed Momo where to find fruit to eat. Sokka seemed to like me though. I always found him laughing at anything I said but I found out from Aang that he was in a relationship with a young woman named Suki. I didn't mind, since I'm technically the Alchemist I didn't know if I could be in a relationship.

Sorry I'm rambling away in my mind and I'm not sure which direction to take.

I'm sitting next to Toph and Aang sat on my other side. Katara sat in front of me and her expression was clearly saying she wished I was dead. I have no idea what I did to her but I noticed Toph's foot kept twitching and I knew she feeling the hostile vibrations from Katara.

I sat there just watching the group interact with each other and I felt left out. I mean, it's been a long time since I was last with people. I didn't even know what to say to Aang and he is my best friend!

Once I finished eating my fill of dinner I used airbending to collect the bowls from everyone's hand and walked to the edge of the room.

"Where are you going with those?" Katara's sharp voice demanded from behind me.

"To clean the bowls down by the river?" I asked more than I said with a glance behind me as I kept walking.

"We can clean up after ourselves thank you very much!" Katara snapped while she started walking towards me.

"I understand but the only thing I really did was show Sokka where to hunt and Serenity and Momo brought fruit and so the least I can do is clean the dishes." I turned to face her with a kind smile.

Katara just glared at me and with a smirk asked, "And how are you going to get down to the river without Sky or a glider?"

"Just like this." I shrugged and took a step backwards off the edge of the cliff.

"NALINA!" Several voices shouted in fear and I just laughed as I airbended my way down the side of the cliff to the river below.

_"We used to live in harmony,_

_Earth, air, fire, and water,_

_together we keep the balance,_

_we live we live,_

_we lived in harmony,_

_earth to keep us down,_

_air to fill us with joy,_

_fire to burn our sorrows,_

_water to heal our pains,_

_spirit to hold us all together."_

I gathered all the bowls together and airbended myself back up to where everyone else was and once my foot touched the ground Toph earthbended rock out and I stumbled.

"If you ever pull a stunt like that ever again, I will kill you next time." She threatened, pointing her finger at me but not taking another step towards me.

"You have to remember," I started to walk over to where they kept their supplies, "I haven't had anybody to socialize with for many years. I don't know a lot that has happened since the air nomads were ambushed the night the fire nation attacked my home." I shrugged.

I heard several gasps from behind me.

When I turned around I saw quite the surprise.

"Hello, Zuko here."


	9. Author's Note

**Hello faithful followers of 'The Lost Airbender' !**

**I'm not sure what to do. They took Avatar: The Last Airbender off of the Netflix play list which I was going to use to finish up this story but sadly I now I can't. If you could help me? I need a website where I can watch it for free. No fees and anything of that sort if you would please send me links? I tried the animeget . com website and they won't play on my ipod which is pretty much my only way of watching netflix.**

**If you would help that would fantastic! Until then this is going on Hiatus until I can find something.**

**Thank you for following this by the way!**

**-Quest For My Own Magic**


End file.
